Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“You sure about that?”
“Might as well be. It’s not like me bellyaching is gonna change anything.”
“No, it won’t.”
“See?” I felt a sense of relief when he said, “I’m just ready to put all this shit behind me.”
“Not sure how staying at Amy’s place is gonna help you do that.”
“I’ve just gotta figure some things out.”
“Like what?”
“If I wanna keep my ties to the club or if I wanna do something else. I can’t do that living under Dad’s shadow.”
“You’re seriously thinking about walking away from the club?”
“Yeah, I am. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Beckett had been a fixture in our clubhouse since the day he was born. We’d all just assumed that he would follow in his father and brother’s footsteps and patch in. “What would you do?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You better be ready cause Prez is gonna lose his shit. Memphis, too.”
“This isn’t about them. It’s about me,” he argued. “It’s time for me to stand on my own.”
“You can do that and be a brother, too.”
“Not as long as Dad’s the president.” Regret marked his face as he grumbled, “I’ll always be a kid to him and nothing more, and I can’t live like that. I gotta prove to him that I can take care of things on my own.”
“I get it. I just don’t want you to make a decision you will regret.”
“What’s life without regret?” Beckett scoffed.
“Beck.”
“I get it. I really do.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he muttered, “But I need to do this. I’ve gotta prove that I can handle things on my own.”
With that, he let out a breath and settled back in his seat, signaling that he was done with our conversation. I left him alone and turned my focus back to the road ahead. I figured he could use the sleep, so I didn’t bother waking him when I stopped for gas. I grabbed a quick bite and just kept trucking.
By the time we made it back to Little Rock, I was wiped. Even though I knew Prez was gonna give me hell about it, I did as he’d asked and dropped Beckett off at Amy’s place. It was the first of many mistakes I would make over the next few days—mistakes that would cost us dearly.
Jenna
“Jones just puked in the hallway. Go clean it up.”
“Take this here.”
“Go there.”
“Clean up this shithole.”
“Go out there and show Benny a good time.”
I’d heard it all before. Done it all before. So, I wasn’t surprised when Steven appeared in my doorway and demanded, “Take this over to Jimmy’s first thing in the morning.”
He tossed a large duffle bag onto the bedroom floor. I didn’t have to ask. I knew what was inside, and I also knew I didn’t want to deliver it—not to Jimmy or anyone else. “What? I have to work. You know that.”
“So? Do it on your way.”
“What about Luna?”
Steven was two years younger than me, and there was a time when we were thick as thieves. There wasn’t anything my brother wouldn’t do for me and I for him, but everything changed when he joined the Assassins, a vicious gang who wreaked havoc on the city. Now, he was covered in tattoos, and all muscled up like he was on steroids, and the only thing he cared about was himself and them. He certainly didn’t care about me or his niece, so I wasn’t surprised when he spat, “What about her?”
“You know I have to take her to daycare?”
“So?” Aggravation marked his face as he sassed, “Drop it off on your way.”
“I’m not taking that in the car with Luna.”
“You like having a roof over your head?”
It was a common threat. He used it anytime he wanted me to do something for him. I wanted no part of it. I was a mother, and I was doing everything I could to raise my daughter right. I hoped that I could worm my way out of it, so I started, “You know I do, but...”
“I don’t wanna hear your bullshit, Jenna.” He turned and stormed out of the room as he shouted, “Either take the fucking bag or get the fuck out.”
I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but I didn’t have that luxury. I was basically homeless and was at the mercy of my brother’s hospitality. Unfortunately, that mercy came at a cost. I had to do things for his stupid gang, or he’d put me and Luna out on the street.
I hated it.
I knew what he was doing was illegal, and I wanted nothing to do with it.
But I had no choice. We needed a place to live. It was either here or on the streets, and I couldn’t do that to Luna.